U.S. SELF-PROPELLED HOWITZE M108 105MM/L30 HOWITZE

The M108 SPH was an American self-propelled gun from the Cold War period. The first prototypes were built in 1962. The M108 was powered by a single engine General Motors 8V-71T with 405 hp. The vehicle was armed with a single 105mm M103 howitzer and a single 12.7mm M2 machine gun. The M108 used many elements of another American self-propelled gun - the M109 - and the M113 armored personnel carrier. This made it possible to shorten the conceptual work and to put the new car into production relatively quickly. The M108 had good mobility, a relatively high degree of reliability, and the ability to rotate the turret 360 degrees, which was previously rare in American self-propelled guns. Cars of this type took an active part in the Vietnam War (1964 / 1965-1975), where they fought from 1966. They were used primarily to defend bases. After the conflict ended, the M108s were quickly withdrawn from the US Army in favor of the M109 self-propelled guns. The M108 self-propelled guns were also used, among others, by Belgium, Spain, Taiwan and Tunisia.